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Insertion
An Insertion is the act of moving soldiers from a safe, friendly location into the Area of Operations. There are many different ways to perform insertions, including Trucks, Transport Helicopters, Boats, or even on foot. Insertions typically take place at the very start of the mission, right after the Briefing. The destination - called the Insertion Point (IP) - is determined beforehand by Command, though it may be adjusted as necessary on the way there. Some insertions must be completed under fire, while others go smoothly without any engagement. Insertions typically only occur during Cooperative missions, where travel to and from the combat zone is an integral part of the experience. In Adversarial missions the attacking Side will likely start the game close to the defenders' position, so that the defending Side doesn't have to wait too long for combat to begin. The opposite of an insertion - removal of troops from the Area of Operations - is called an Extraction (or "Extract"). Basics A mission's Insertion phase usually begins shortly after the Briefing, once all friendly assets have been made ready for action. In the Insertion phase the players make their way from the safe zone (where the Briefing occurred) to the Area of Operations (AO) where combat will take place. The journey is typically made on vehicles. At the start of the Insertion, all weapons are still Cold: they have no effect, and no one can get hurt or killed. Weapons usually go "Hot" as the players get closer to the AO. This marks the start of the action. Weapons stay "Hot" until the end of the mission. Most insertions are carried out on vehicles. The type of vehicles used for the Insertion - if any - strongly influences both the planning of the Insertion and the process itself; Inserting by ground vehicles is very different from inserting by aircraft. Insertion can take several minutes to complete. This includes time spent mounting up into the insertion vehicles (if any), the time it takes to travel the Insertion Point (IP), and the time it takes to dismount there. The insertion phase is completed once all friendly forces have arrived at the Insertion Point. The Insertion Point is typically placed on the map by Command, based on the needs of their intended plan of attack. The IP is usually placed some distance away from the main objective - far enough that the troops can safely reorganize after their insertion, without major (or any) interference from the enemy. The distance from the IP to the mission objective(s) can be as much as several kilometers, in some cases. Most insertions take place at a point that is as free of enemy presence as possible. The IP may even be repositioned elsewhere, if the intended IP turns out to be too well-defended. It is also possible to insert troops directly into combat, as often occurs in beach assaults by Boat - but this is rare. If enemies are expected or discovered at an IP, the insertion effort may be backed with heavy supporting fire from Artillery, Aircraft, and/or other heavy weapons, if at all available. This helps soften up the opposition, giving the troops more time to secure a foothold on the ground once they arrive. Insertion Methods There are multiple ways to carry out an insertion. The chosen method is typically not up to the discretion of Command - it is instead dictated by the parameters of the mission itself, as set by the mission designer. Most notably, the types of vehicles available to the force determine which insertion method will be used. The most common insertion method is by Transport Helicopters, landing troops at a designated position. Due to the low availability of helicopters and their low capacity, multiple flights may be necessary to place all forces at the IP before they can head off into action. Insertion by ground vehicles (e.g. Trucks) is also very common. This is followed by Boat insertion, and finally insertion by foot. Insertion by Parachutes, while less common, can be very memorable. Alternatively, a mission may require no insertion at all. This may be because the mission objective will be in the players' hands at the start of the mission (e.g. when the mission is to defend the objective), or when there simply isn't enough time to organize and carry out an insertion. In such cases, the players will simply be teleported directly to the IP (or the objective) with no travel required. Ground Vehicles Insertion by ground vehicles is somewhat common. This involves players mounting up on Trucks or other light vehicles. If the players are part of a Mechanized Infantry force, APCs or even IFVs may be used instead. The procedure is similar in both cases. Insertion by ground vehicles usually involves the players mounting up at their home base. The trucks then take a designated route towards the Area of Operations, following specific roads on the way there (as marked by Command during the Briefing). The players will dismount from their vehicles once they reach the designated insertion point, or when they come under fire - whichever comes first. Insertion by ground vehicles typically also means that the players will keep the vehicles for the Extract; or the vehicles will escort and/or protect the players throughout the entire mission. Helicopters Insertion by Transport Helicopters is one of the most common insertion methods in ShackTac. Both Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters are common in this role, as they can place a large number of soldiers at the drop zone simultaneously. For a Helicopter insertion, Command usually sets more than one possible Landing Zones in advance. A lot of discretion is then given to the pilots in determining which LZ, if any, is preferable. The pilots will usually make this decision once they are already over the Landing Zone and can get visual confirmation that it is clear of enemies. Attempting a Helicopter insertion into a hot landing zone - especially when no troops are already on the ground to defend it - is very dangerous. The number of Transport Helicopters available to a force is usually limited to only a couple of aircraft, and Blackhawks can only carry roughly a squad each - which means that unless multiple Chinooks are available, the helicopters will need to make several trips to transfer all soldiers to the Insertion Point. The first squad will therefore need to hold the IP until the remaining troops can be ferried over. The Insertion only ends once all soldiers have been ferried over. Boats Insertion by Boats is uncommon. In this method, the players are teleported into boats out on the ocean, and need to drive their boats onto the designated landing beach a good distance away. Boat insertions must often be completed under enemy fire, especially when carried out during daytime. The boats may even return fire at the beach as they come in. Once the troops hit the beach, they need to fight to establish a beach-head - a foothold that they can defend against enemy counter-attacks. They may even be required to immediately assault enemy positions further inland, in order to secure that beach-head. Each boats will typically have a different Insertion Point on the beach where it aims to land. There is typically no need (or time) to rally or reorganize after a beach landing; Therefore the IPs will be spread out over a significant length of the beach, allowing all units to come ashore at roughly the same time. This allows the entire force to engage the enemy almost simultaneously, maximizing its effect. The boats will typically remain on the beach, and may be used for Extraction at the end of the mission. On occasion, the boats will remain manned and will provide supporting fire for the troops while they are within close proximity to the shore. If the troops move inland, the boats will likely be beached and dismounted. On Foot Insertion on foot requires the players to travel from their safe Briefing location to the Area of Operations without the assistance of any vehicles. Because of the huge distances available on an ArmA map, and the slow speed of travel on foot, it is highly unlikely to see players have to travel any long distance before they engage the enemy. This is one reason why insertion by foot is extremely rare in ShackTac. However, if the objective is not far from the safe zone, insertion on foot may actually be preferable to spending time and effort to organize and mount an insertion by vehicles. This is one reason why Adversarial missions begin with an insertion on foot, if there is one at all. Parachutes One of the rarest (but easily most dramatic) insertion methods is by Parachute. In this method, the players mount up on large Transport Planes, large enough to carry at least a squad each. They are then flown to the AO, and dropped out of the plane one by one at a high altitude over the designated Insertion Point. Each player must safely parachute down to the ground, regroup to the best of their ability, and proceed with the intended battle-plan. Parachuting is one of the more dangerous and difficult types of insertions. For one, the players are jumping into enemy-controlled territory, and are highly vulnerable to ground-fire while making their way down to the ground. To mitigate this, parachute insertions are often carried out at night. Additionally, the players may or may not have the ability to control their parachutes, which means that the high altitude and speed of the Transport Plane can spread them out over a very large area. All of these factors significantly increase the chance of players missing the intended IP altogether, landing directly into combat with the enemy, and/or becoming separated from other players. Players can expect to be completely surrounded by enemies immediately upon touching the ground. Regrouping after a parachute insertion is also much more difficult, especially if the players are lacking Radios and/or Maps. Players tend to temporarily join up with any other friendlies they encounter, forming ad-hoc groups until they can locate and rejoin their original units (if it ever happens at all). Units may or may not have a way to signal their positions to one another. Friendly Fire is a constant danger. Deploying directly to the IP In certain situation, planning and executing an insertion may be completely skipped in favor of deploying the troops directly at the Insertion Point, beginning the mission at the edge of the Area of Operations. The Game Master will simply teleport the troops to the IP without any bells and whistles, and weapons will go Hot as soon as the troops are organized and begin moving. This sort of non-insertion insertion is typically used when there is simply not enough time to execute the real thing; or when there are not enough players to man insertion vehicles; or when the mission requires the players not to have any vehicles. There may be other reasons to take this option, and they are all up to the Game Master or the mission designer. The attacking force in an Adversarial mission will typically deploy directly to its IP, to minimize the time it'll take for combat to begin. Direct deployment is also used in Escape and Evade scenarios, where players find themselves at random positions on the map at the start of the mission. Compare with JIP or REJIP, where a handful of players may be deployed directly to the current position of the friendly force (usually as Reinforcements) when organizing a proper insertion for them would consume too much time and effort. As of 2019, it is more common to see JIPs and REJIPs carried out by parachute drops instead (see above). Start at Objective Finally, there are missions where no insertion is required because the entire mission is expected to take place at a single location. This is particularly true for Last Stand missions (where the players will defend an objective against increasing waves of enemies) or for the defending force in Adversarial missions. In both cases, since the players are expected to construct a formidable defense, they will do most of their pre-mission planning at the objective itself and will not need to travel anywhere once the game begins.